'Err 30 Shooting is not possible...' on new 5d Mark II

I just received my new 5d Mark II on December 31st and got the rare? "ERR 30 Shooting is not possible... " error message screen while shooting yesterday. I just shipped out the camera today Jan 2 to the online retailer in exchange for another 5dmk2 when they receive additional shipment. Oh yeah, just had it for about a day and it went kapoot.

Don't know what causes the error but was pretty bummed I couldn't use it just when I literally just got the camera. I tried everything to see if it was just a fluke, resetting the camera to factory settings, recycling out the battery then turning it back on, changing lenses, using a different cf card, etc. But in the end the error would just pop up every time I pressed the shutter - preventing further use. Just wanted to report this to you all in case any one of you have encountered this. I did a google search for [Err 30 on the 5dMk2] and only found 2 references to this matter so I'm assuming not a lot of people are getting this or reporting it.

In any case I'll just be waiting until I get my exchange processed, Here is the specific message for future reference:
" Err 30 Shooting is not possible, Turn the power switch to off and on again or reinstall the battery"

Seems there has been some more major QC issues...

meanmark wrote in post #6990362
I did a google search for [Err 30 on the 5dMk2] and only found 2 references to this matter so I'm assuming not a lot of people are getting this or reporting it.

There was another user here who got a DOA 5D MKII when they first started shipping, I haven't heard of any other instances. Luckily there a little easier to get a hold of now, so you can get a replacement right away!

Anonther victim here. I have had my 5D Mark II for two weeks. Tonight I was shooting indoors at a party. It worked fine for the first hour, but then the Err 30 messages started appearing every time I clicked the shutter. As Meanmark did, I tried many things to resolve the problem -- without any luck. Let's hope that this doesn't become a major quality issue with this model.

Hey it got me too!

I received the 5D at 24.12.2008 and everything was fine. But then last week I got the first err 20 message.
After reseting it and disabling the auto senso cleaning it worked ... well, it occured again 1 of 10 times.
Then I got the err30 message and it got worse. I called the Canon Support and they wanted to call me back - from a Callcenter to the real Canon Support Center but they didnt have called yet...
If they dont call back, Ill send it back to my retail store.

I am so angry about Canon, such an expensive Camera which aint working...
you can find the canon 5D err20 in the net

About a month ago, I asked a friend of mine to buy a 5D Mark II from Singapore airport because this product is not available in Turkey yet. I have been getting the Error 30 message since the first day. Environment temperature makes no difference. I tried with different cards and lenses. My battery is charged. I shut down the camera and turned it on over and over again. I took out both batteries and waited. I get the same error in all cases. This is getting more and more frequent. I can now shoot only once in a while. I just did the 1.0.7 firmware update, even though I wasn’t very hopeful. Nothing changed. At the moment, I cannot use these camera.

I see many people on the web have the same problem with this camera. I understand that this is not my bad luck and that I have not bought a broken camera. This is a fault of the model.

I've had a dud 40D, a dud 85L II, a dud 400D and a dud 35L and a dud 70-200 f/4L IS and two dud manfrotto products so I can certainly understand the frustration with defective goods

But I'm starting to get suspicious whether there's something else going on with regards to the 5D2. There is an unusually high number of issues being reported, either ERR20, ERR30, Flash metering issues, Screen disappearances, and a VERY high number of cameras that did not have their CMOS sensor calibrated properly so we see all these defect pixels in photos, which should not be normal for a new camera. Between this forum, DPR and FM there's probably been about 20 reports of obscene amounts of defect/stuck/hot/dead pixels on new cameras in the past 2 weeks, more than I've seen in a year I reckon

Some issues can be explained, for example those 5D2 owners complaining about AF point marker ghostings have previously only owned the 5D, which is probably the only Canon camera that doesn't share those issues.

Is it these early batches that is screwed up? Or is it some sort of viral negative anecdotes? It's very concerning for Canon if it's the former and it would make noone in their right mind buy a 5D2 (I'm a little crazy )

Hello
I have a Canon 400D and had the same error message "Shooting is not possible, Turn the power switch to off and on again or reinstall the battery".
Fortunately, today another photographer saved the problem by simply warming the camera with a hair dryer. He took off the card, the battery and the lens and "warmed" everything up. And voilà, the camera was working again. So, it could maybe be possible that many of this problems are caused by temperature changes. As my camera had a long very hot summer and now some cold temperatures.

Mine just got this message...there's nothing to do but send it back?

Dammit!! there I was, credit card in hand and just about to make the call when I saw this thread.

As Shakespeare once wrote, "To buy or not to buy, That is the question."

allcart wrote in post #7116205
Dammit!! there I was, credit card in hand and just about to make the call when I saw this thread.

As Shakespeare once wrote, "To buy or not to buy, That is the question."

This thread stopped you? There will always be some amount of DOA products when it comes to items like these. Many people have been shipped working 5D MKII's at this point.

yeah allcart i wouldn't let this stop you, it happens. it's only 1 in x,000 cameras, so your odds are good. apparently my odds were bad

I wasn't really going to let it stop me so I made the call.
Both my regular suppliers are out of stock. sh!t happens.

Interesting. Here we have yet another thread about problems with the 5dMKII. This thread has 6 people that say they have a problem with the camera.

The average number of posts for those 6 posters is 5 posts, with none of them having over 13.

Nikon has an interesting marketing campaign going right now. Flood forums with problems on your competitors equipment.

Jam71868 wrote in post #7127247
Interesting. Here we have yet another thread about problems with the 5dMKII. This thread has 6 people that say they have a problem with the camera.

The average number of posts for those 6 posters is 5 posts, with none of them having over 13.

Nikon has an interesting marketing campaign going right now. Flood forums with problems on your competitors equipment.

Paranoid much? Isn't it also possible that a post about a problem is likely to bring in others with similar problems, and that people are more likely to speak up for the first time when they feel they have something to say?

Also, of the 6 complaining, one is complaining about a different camera and three have been registered for nearly 2 years or longer (and one has 885 posts). Nikon has been planning this for years . . .